The 17th congressional district of Illinois is represented by Democrat Eric Sorensen. It includes most of the northwestern portion of the state, with most of its population living on the Illinois side of the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of five cities (originally Tri-Cities, later four, see #History, History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport, Iowa, Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, Bettendorf (the fifth to be included) in southeaster ...

, as well as parts of Peoria and Rockford. The 17th

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional body. Countries with congressional districts includ ...

has shifted northward after redistricting in 2012. It subsequently lost Quincy and Decatur, as well as its share of Springfield. It was generally thought that the redrawn map would allow the district to revert to the Democrats, who held it without interruption from 1983 to 2011. As expected, incumbent Representative Bobby Schilling was defeated, after serving only one term, by Democratic opponent Cheri Bustos in the 2012 election cycle, who served until 2023. The boundaries were drawn in a bipartisan deal to protect both Democratic incumbent

Lane Evans Lane Allen Evans (August 4, 1951 – November 5, 2014) was an American attorney and politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1983 until 2007, representing the 17th District of Illinois. Eva ...

and neighboring Republican incumbents. The lines of the district were drawn to move Republican voters into neighboring districts and to include Democratic neighborhoods in Springfield and Decatur. Evans retired in 2006 as a result of declining health, and the seat was won by his longtime aide Phil Hare. Although the district had been designed to elect a Democrat, Hare lost in 2010 to Republican pizzeria owner Bobby Schilling. In 2012, Democrat Cheri Bustos won the district election.

History

2011 redistricting

The district covers parts of Peoria, Tazewell and Winnebago counties, and all of Carroll, Fulton,

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname * Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *H ...

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, Jo Daviess, Knox,

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (automobile), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City, US * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or tra ...

, Rock Island, Stephenson,

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

and Whiteside counties, as of the 2011 redistricting which followed the 2010 census. All or parts of

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

, East Moline,

Freeport Freeport, a variant of free port, may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Freeport, name of several space stations in the video game ''Freelancer'' (2003) * Freeport, a fictional town in the video game ''SiN'' (1998) * ''Freeport: The Cit ...

, Galesburg, Kewanee, Moline, Peoria, Rock Island, Rockford, Pekin and

Sterling Sterling may refer to: Currency * The English penny, historically known as the ''sterling'' * Pound sterling, the currency of the United Kingdom * Sterling silver, a grade of silver Places United Kingdom * Stirling, a Scottish city whose al ...

are included. The representatives for these districts were elected in the 2012 primary and general elections, and the boundaries became effective on January 5, 2013.

2001 redistricting

From 2003 to 2013 the district was known as "the rabbit on a skateboard" for its unusual shape devised as the outcome of

gerrymandering Gerrymandering, ( , originally ) defined in the contexts of Representative democracy, representative electoral systems, is the political manipulation of Boundary delimitation, electoral district boundaries to advantage a Political party, pa ...

Representation

Since 1982, the representative from this district has hailed from a city within Rock Island, County. From 1982 to 2013, the district's representatives hailed from Rock Island, these being Lane Evans, Phil Hare, and Bobby Schilling. Since 2013, the district's representatives have hailed from neighboring Moline, and include Cheri Bustos and Eric Sorenson. In early 2021, Cheri Bustos announced her intention to retire at the end of the 117th Congress. In November 2021, former

WREX WREX (channel 13) is a television station in Rockford, Illinois, United States, affiliated with NBC. Owned by Allen Media Group, it is the market's only full-power VHF station and is Rockford's second oldest television station. WREX's studios a ...

and

WQAD WQAD-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Moline, Illinois, United States, serving the Quad Cities area as an affiliate of American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on Park 16th Street i ...

meteorologist Eric Sorenson announced his candidacy for the seat. He later won the election with 52% of the vote.

Composition

Cities and CDPs with 10,000 or more people

* Rockford – 148,655 * Peoria – 113,150 * Bloomington – 78,680 *

Normal Normal(s) or The Normal(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''Normal'' (2003 film), starring Jessica Lange and Tom Wilkinson * ''Normal'' (2007 film), starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Kevin Zegers, Callum Keith Rennie, and Andrew Airlie * ''Norma ...

– 52,736 * Moline – 41,654 * Rock Island – 37,108 * Pekin – 31,731 * Galesburg – 30,052 *

– 23,973 *

Loves Park Loves Park is a city in Boone and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Most of the city is in Winnebago County, with a tiny sliver in the east located in Boone County. The population was 23,397 at the 2020 census. Loves Park is p ...

– 23,397 * East Moline – 21,374 * Macomb – 15,051 *

– 14,764 *

– 13,242 * Kewanee – 12,509

2,500 to 10,000 people

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

– 8,902 * Rock Falls – 8,789 * Silvis – 8,003 * Bartonville – 5,945 * Peoria Heights – 5,908 *

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

– 5,097 * Colona – 5,045 * West Peoria – 4,263 *

Morrison Morrison may refer to: People * Morrison (surname), people with the Scottish surname Morrison * Morrison Heady (1829–1915), American poet * Morrison Mann MacBride (1877–1938), Canadian merchant Places in the United States * Morrison, Colorad ...

– 4,085 * Coal Valley – 3,873 * Fulton – 3,647 * Abingdon – 2,951 * Winnebago – 2,940 *

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

– 2,901 *

Savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

– 2,783 *

Lena Lena or LENA may refer to: Places * Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso * Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada * Lena, Norway, a village in ...

– 2,772 As of the 2020 redistricting, this district will retain the Illinois side of the

area where much of its population previously resided, while its southern borders will now extend further into

Central Illinois Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central third of the state, divided from north to south. Also known as the ''Heart of Illinois'', it is characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities. Agri ...

. The district will take in parts of

, and

McDonough McDonough is an Irish surname. Origins and variants The surname is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "Mac Donnchadha", which means son of Donnchadh or son of Donough. The name itself consists of elements meaning "brown (donn)" or Donn ...

Counties; half of

, Stephenson, Tazewell, McLean, Fulton, and Peoria Counties; and all of Carroll, Rock Island, Whiteside, and Knox Counties. Henry County is split between this district and the 16th district. They are partitioned on the northwest side by Shaffer Creek, Oakwood Cir, Oakmont Dr, Oakwood Country Club, Glenwood Rd, US Highway 6, E 450th St, Illinois Highway 280, Green River Rd, and Kings Dr. They are partitioned on the southeast side by E 1770th St, N 650th Ave/N 570th Ave, Timber Rd, E 2400th St, and N 1200 St. The 17th district takes in the municipalities of Colona, Kewanee, and

Galva Galva may refer to: Places ;United States * Galva, Illinois * Galva, Iowa * Galva, Kansas Galva is a city in McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 834. History Early history Fo ...

. Warren County is split between this district and the 15th district. They are partitioned by 60th St and 180th Ave. The 17th district takes in the communities of

Alexis Alexis may refer to: People Mononym * Alexis (poet) ( – ), a Greek comic poet * Alexis (sculptor), an ancient Greek artist who lived around the 3rd or 4th century BC * Alexis (singer) (born 1968), German pop singer * Alexis (comics) (1946– ...

(shared with Mercer County),

, and part of

Cameron Cameron may refer to: People * Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan * Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) ;Mononym * Cam'ron (born 19 ...

. McDonough County is split between this district and the 15th district. They are partitioned by US Highway 136, US Highway 67, N 1150th Rd, Grant St, Deer Rd, N 1200th St, S Quail Walk Rd, Jamestown Rd, Arlington Rd, La Moine River, Emory Rd, N 1400th Rd, Krohe Dr, E 1200th St, N 1800th Rd, and E 1900th St, N 1700th St, E 2000th St. The 17th district takes in the municipality of Bardolph and most of Macomb. Mercer County is split between this district and the 15th district. They are partitioned by 220th St. The 17th district takes in the communities of Burgess, Matherville,

Viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

, Preemption, Sherrard, Swedona,

Cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

, North Henderson, and

(shared with Warren County). Stephenson County is split between this district and the 16th district. They are partitioned by Daws Rd, Howardsville Rd, Cedarville Rd, N Fawver Rd, and Maize Rd. The 17th district takes in the communities of

Pearl City Pearl City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the Ewa District and City & County of Honolulu on the island of Oahu, in the U.S. state of Hawaii. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 45,295. Pearl ...

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

, Ridott,

German Valley German Valley is a village in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. German Valley is located four miles south of U.S. Route 20 between Freeport and Rockford. German Valley had a population of 433 at the 2020 census, with a 2023 estimate ...

, Willow Lake; and part of Baileyville, Cedarville, and

. Tazewell County is split between this district and the 16th district. They are partitioned by Illinois River, S 3rd St, Prince St, Elm St, Maple St, Mechanic St, Koch St, 5th St, Illinois Central Railroad, Townline Rd, Highway I-55, Illinois Highway 122, Indian Creek, Southwest Lincoln St, Southeast Main St, Hopedale Rd, Springtown Rd, Mackinaw Rd, and Lagoon Rd. The 17th district takes in the communities of Delavan, Green Valley, and Armington; most of South Pekin; and part of Pekin (shared with Peoria County). McLean County is split between this district and the 16th district. They are partitioned by E 1000 North Rd, N 250 East Rd, E 1200 North Rd, Middle Fork Sugar Creek, E 1250 North Rd, N 750 East Rd, E 1300 North Rd, E 1280 North Rd, N 900 East Rd, E 1350 North Rd, E 1400 North Rd, N 1100 East Rd, N Rivian Motorway, King Mill Creek, Illinois Highway 74, Hovey Ave, S Cottage Ave, Gregory St, N Adelaide St, W Raab Rd, N Towanda Ave, E Shelbourne Dr, Old Route 66, Hershey Rd, E College Ave, Illinois Highway 55, Sugar Creek, General Electric Rd, Rainbow Ave, Mill Creek Rd, Clearwater Ave, Newcastle Dr, Illinois Highway 9, S Towanda Barnes Rd, Central Illinois Airport, Winchester Dr, S Hershey Rd, E Oakland Ave, S Veterans Parkway, S Mercer Ave, Norfolk and Southern Railroad, Rhodes Ln, E Hamilton Rd, S Morris Ave, Six Points Rd, W Oakland Ave, Fox Creek Rd, Crooked Creek Rd, Carrington Ln, and N 1200 East Rd. The 17th district takes in the communities of McLean,

Shirley Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American biographical film about Shirley Jackson * ''Shirley'' ( ...

; most of Bloomington; and southern

. Fulton County is split between this district and the 15th district. They are partitioned by East Oscar Linn Highway. The 17th district takes in the communities of

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, Farmington (shared with Peoria County), Avon, Marietta, Ellisville, Smithfield, Fairview, Norris,

St. David David (; ; ) was a Welsh Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Mynyw during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail about his life. ...

, Bryant,

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

, and

Banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

. Peoria County is split between this district and the 16th district. They are partitioned by W Gerber Rd/W Rosenbohm Rd, W Southport Rd, BN & SF Railroad, W Southport Rd, N Townhouse Rd, W Cottonwood Rd, N McAllister Rd, W Greengold Rd, W Farmington Rd, N Kickapoo Creek Rd, Saint Mary's Cemetery, N Swords Ave, N Northcrest Dr, C & NW Railroad, Weaverridge Golf Club, W Charter Oak Rd, Illinois Highway 6, W War Memorial Dr, N Allen Rd, W Northmoor Rd, Big Hollow Creek, West Imperial Dr, West Willow Knolls Dr, North University St, Manning Park, West Teton Dr, Illinois Highway 40, North Prospect Rd, East Prospect Ln, North Montclair Ave, East Euclid Ave, North Grandview Dr, Forest Park Nature Center, Forest Park Apartments, North Galena Rd, Illinois Highway 29, and Forest Park Riverfront-Longshore. The 17th district takes in the communities of Hanna City, Glasford, Elmwood, Farmington (shared with Fulton County), Trivoli, Smithville, Lake Camelot, Kingston Mines, Bartonville, and Mapleton; most of Peoria, West Peoria, and

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. Bellevue or Belle Vue may refer to: Places Australia * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Canada * Bellevue, Alberta * Bellevue, Newfoundlan ...

; and part of Norwood, Peoria Heights, and Pekin (shared with Tazewell County). Winnebago County is split between this district and the 16th district. The 17th district takes in the communities of Winnebago; most of Rockford; and part of

Recent election results from statewide races

List of members representing the district

Election results

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

2024

Notes

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links

''Washington Post'' page on the 17th District of IllinoisU.S. Census Bureau - 17th District Fact Sheet
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Illinois's 17th Congressional District 17 Calhoun County, Illinois Constituencies established in 1873 1873 establishments in Illinois